spacetoday.net: STS-121 launch pushed back to July

Posted: Tue, Mar 14, 2006, 7:37 PM ET (0037 GMT)
STS-107: launch (NASA/KSC)

NASA announced Tuesday afternoon that the launch of the next shuttle mission has been delayed until July to allow workers time to replace troublesome fuel sensors in the shuttle's external tank. The shuttle Discovery has been set to launch in May on mission STS-121, but that launch is now scheduled for a window that opens on July 1 and runs through July 19. The decision to delay the launch came after a two-day meeting where shuttle managers elected to replace four engine cutoff (ECO) fuel sensors in the external tank, after testing of the tank that will be used on the mission revealed problems with one of the four sensors. The delay will also give shuttle workers time to repair the shuttle's robotic arm, which was slightly damaged in a hangar mishap last week, and to complete wind tunnel tests to confirm that the external tank does not require a ramp that was the source of foam shedding on the STS-114 mission last summer.